But late last year, Craig Postlewaite, director of Force Health Protection and Readiness Programs, admitted "it's quite plausible -- in fact quite likely -- that there are a small number of people that have been affected with longer-term health problems."

Military health officials have suggested the pits have caused some respiratory illnesses.

Some military members and their families say they believe that's only the beginning, and that burn pit exposure is linked to cancer, blood disease, skin conditions and leukemia, the Tribune reported.

"This is our generation's Agent Orange," Doug Butler, a case manager with the U.S. Air Force's Wounded Warrior program in San Antonio, said, referring to the herbicides used during the Vietnam War that have been blamed for various long-term illnesses.

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